Dry, stale, leftover bread? Turn it into golden brown cubes of crispy, buttery homemade crouton goodness. All you need is 10 minutes and a dream. O.K., maybe also an oven and some butter and a couple of other things ...
I have to be honest up front here and tell you that up until last year I rarely make homemade croutons. Mainly it's because I couldn't be bothered. Counting the exact amount of fruit flies a variety of traps catch is no bother. But croutons? No. Far too much bother.
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Homemade Croutons. What??!!
The stupid thing is, making croutons is zero bother at all. Seriously, you can whip up a batch of croutons in 15 minutes, and most of that time they're in the oven. The other 5 minutes is spent cutting bread, melting butter and scrolling Instagram.
Once you do this you will not go back to store bought croutons. Ever. Your soup, caesar salad, and chili will never put up with a regular crouton again.
You can use any bread, even leftover hotdog buns or hamburger buns but the better the bread the better the croutons.
You can use stale bread, leftover bread or fresh bread. It doesn't matter.
All you do is cube the bread, toss it in a mixture of olive oil and butter (1:1 ratio) sprinkle with salt and rosemary and put them in the oven. If you want to go that one step further, grate some garlic in your butter and let it steep while you cut the bread. And if you don't have a rasp for grating things you need to get one now. This one comes in 14 different colours. I'm partial to the yellow.
I think what stops most of us from cooking a lot of things is worrying about following a recipe. Croutons really have no recipe. You can add whatever herbs you like or no herbs at all. All you have to remember is proportions.
Crouton ratio
1 lb bread - ½ cup oils
That's it. You can use pure olive oil as the oil, or a mixture of butter and olive oil or all butter. I like a 50/50 ratio of melted butter and olive oil.
And goat videos.
Just preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C), take a baking sheet, drizzle some olive oil on it, throw your cubed bread on top in a pile and then pour the rest of your oil over top. Mix it up with your hands and then spread the cubes out on your baking sheet.
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Now is when you want to sprinkle salt, rosemary or whatever herbs you want.
Throw the sheet pan in the oven that's been preheated to 375 °F and bake them.
The longer you bake the croutons the drier they'll get and the longer they'll store. If you don't like browned croutons just bake them at a lower temperature like 350.
If you bake the croutons at 350°F for a shorter period of time they'll be crunchy on the outside and slightly chewy on the inside. DELICIOUS. It's how I prefer them, but I want mine to store for a long time so I make sure they're dried out and crunchy all the way through.
I like my croutons browned and really dry because my favourite way to use them is not in salad, but in soup. You need a hearty, crispy crouton for soup. One that has some GUTS! Some STRENGTH! A CROUTON THAT WILL NOT BE PUSHED AROUND.
One that can withstand a hearty squash and apple soup!
I make enough to last a while so I don't have to go to alllllll this bother (??? what is wrong with me) again for a couple of months.
Seriously. 15 minutes total, 10 of those spent the scent of garlic, rosemary, bread and butter waft through the kitchen. A far nicer smell than rotting fruit flies for instance.
Store your croutons in a glass container. I use this tall canister and keep it at the ready for when a crouton craving hits.
Garlic Croutons
Ingredients
- 1 lb bread
- 4 cloves garlic
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 Tbsps rosemary chopped
- salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Melt ¼ cup of butter and mix with ¼ cup of olive oil.
- Grate/rasp 4 cloves of garlic into the bowl of butter and olive oil. Let sit while you prepare the bread.
- Cube bread into nice sized chunks.
- Drizzle a large baking sheet with olive oil.
- Add croutons to the baking sheet in a big pile.
- Drizzle all the butter/olive oil/garlic mixture over the croutons, tossing the cubes as you go so everything gets an equal amount of oils.
- Spread the croutons out and then sprinkle with a generous amount of salt and rosemary.
- Bake for 5 minutes, remove from oven to give them a good stir and then return them to the oven for another 5 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
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What do you find is the shelf-life of these babies ........... ? I've tried freezing but they come out softer & most often I have no time included in my schedule to re-toast. Grandkids have laid down the law that croutons must be fresh out of the oven or at least recently created & stored at room temp. ;0)
Hi Toni. If they're properly dried (so no softness left to them at all) they'll last for a longggg time in an airtight jar or bag just the same way store bought croutons do. The only time you'll get into trouble is if you cook them until they're not completely dried and then they can get mouldy. ~ karen!
Omg. Omg. Omg. 😋
Just made these for your amazing Caesar dressing recipe, and I can’t stop eating them!!! I think the real genius is in your 1:1 ratio of oil and butter. Now I have a big skillet of bacon spitting on the stove. My house smells like heaven!
Thank you. My husband thanks you.
Did I say omg enough?!
Yes, yes you did, lol. Good! I'm glad you like them! My new puppy has been home a week and I'm hoping that one day I'll have time to do things like make croutons (or bathe, or clean, or cook, or brush my hair) again! ~ karen
I love homemade croutons & breadcrumbs, what a difference from the store bought varieties. I'm always surprised at the reaction from others who are amazed by the taste. Such any easy thing, but it makes a huge difference & it saves on food waste, win-win-win.
do you have an air fryer?
Croutons are even faster and less hassle and use less energy than the oven when you make them in the AF.
Hi Maria! No I don't have an air fryer. When I fry foods (which isn't all that often) I want to take advantage of all that grease has to offer. ;) ~karen!
My favorite way to eat them would be to just eat them - as a snack! while watching food videos about making bread.
LOL! Good plan. ~ karen!
I make my own croutons but I prefer to make with butter only, no oil. I also make them in the frying pan because I think it's a waste of energy to heat up an oven just to toast croutons.
I agree with the energy waste when heating the oven for such a short time. I also make up a batch sometimes in the glorious grease left after frying bacon. Of course, I keep them in the freezer. They thaw in minutes. Karen, how do you calculate the nutritionals?
Hi Suzanne. It's done with a software program basically. (a plugin) You input the exact ingredients and the calories/nutrition is automatically calculated. ~ karen!
I fry them too. I like them slightly warm. Yum!
I was praying that you did not cut off the crusts- the best part. Thank you.
I have always made my own croutons and managed to get to the heart of a boy (now soon to be husband) partially due to croutons. The first meal I made him I was agonizing over, so I had a friend come for an advanced taste test of three varieties of my croutons (garlic chips and salt, garlic parmesan, and mixed herb) to determine which ones to serve with the soup course. She suggested serving all three, which I did (oh, the hilarity of infatuation!). Even though he's a great cook, I still get regular requests for my croutons as a vehicle for different soups. He loves them for snacks on road trips too.
He is obviously an astute man, with excellent taste in croutons.. best wishes for a delightfully spicy marriage!
Thanks Tina! Delightful thus far :) Now to try the croutons with butter to seal the deal! To give myself extra bonus points I think I’ll give his cordless drill new battery life. Thanks Karen!
How long can you keep them in a zip lock bag?
Have you tried the Artisan Bread in 5 minutes recipe? Truly the best bread I've ever had. You mix flour, yeast, salt and water (no kneading) and let it sit on the counter for 2 hours. Then put it in the fridge, or cut off a hunk, let it rest for 30 minutes and bake. The hardest part is waiting for the bread to cool after you take it out of the oven.
Here's the link to the recipe book on Amazon, but they've posted the master recipe starting on page 53 which you can see on the "Look inside" feature. https://www.amazon.com/Artisan-Bread-Five-Minutes-Revolutionizes-ebook/dp/B000XPNUPY/ref=dp_kinw_strp_1
I have indeed, I've had the book for years and use it all the time. In fact Zoe (the author) and I have been trying to get together to do a Q & A post for my site. ~ karen!
Who knew??!? Does the type of bread have much significance?
I want some, NOW!!!!
They look and sound so delicious! I’m thinking about shapes and sizes into which to cut them. Thinner and rectangular for hummus-free fingers. Thinner for munching like potato chips, so much goodness! Thank you, Karen, as always, for making my day! I’m in the hospital recovering from a total knee replacement, so you are my go to! ❤️
Best wishes for a speedy recovery Patty! I am always drawn to your comments because I looked like you at that age.
How should you store these?
In an airtight container or ziploc bag. ~ karen!
Great use for leftover bread - now that I'm baking my own and have left overs. I just won't buy that stuff at the store anymore. Too easy and cheap to make my own. That tray of pieces looks so good, I don't think I would need salad or soup - just a good show on TV and they would be all gone.
I always make my own croutons. It’s easy and they taste so much better than any you could buy. The only problem is getting people to stop eating them before you even use them ! Lol.
I used some as carriers for hummus just last night. ~ karen!
I have to agree with Suzanne! You’re awesome Karen. You start my day off with a smile...sometimes a big laugh!
Thank you!!
Thank you for saying that Elissa! ~ karen
Karen,
I have to say, I only have this grater because you must have recommended it in the past. (Did you do a post that involved zesting lemons at one time?) In fact, I believe I've acquired many of my kitchen gadgets because of your blog. I never would have thought to "invest" in some of these products if you didn't virtually hold my hand and show me how to use them and why I need them. So, making croutons may not be rocket science, but I really do appreciate your posts. Your blog is well named, because I've learned a shit-ton of stuff from you over the years! Thanks!
Suzanne
P.S. I regularly scan a handful of blogs, but your blog is the one I really READ....love your sense of humor!
Thanks Suzanne! I've done a couple of posts where I list the rasp as a must have kitchen tool. :) PLUS it hardly takes up any room in a drawer, which in most kitchens is a huge deal. ~ karen!
Yum! Thanks :)
This is well worth the “trouble”! I always make my own croutons - they are even nice as nibbles in front of the tv when there’s nothing else to nibble.
And Parmesan